It's been over 30 years since Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny (William Zabka) faced off in the finals at the All-Valley Karate Tournament in Karate Kid. While Daniel, under the tutelage of Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), might have been victorious that days, some grudges never die.
YouTube Red is revisiting the world of Karate Kid with its upcoming series Cobra Kai, and the first trailer for the original series is packed with just about everything a Karate Kid fan could want from a revival. Set in present day, the new show follows Johnny as he reopens the evil Cobra Kai dojo. "I just don't know why you'd ever want to bring back Cobra Kai," Daniel tells his old nemesis.
The series is being billed by YouTube Red as a half-hour comedy, though the trailer certainly doesn't match that tone. However, with a story written by Josh Heald (Hot Tub Time Machine), along with Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle), there's bound to be plenty of funny built into the series.
Joining Macchio and Zabka in the series are Courtney Henggeler (Mom), Xolo Maridueña (Parenthood), and Tanner Buchanan (Designated Survivor) as Johnny's son Robby. Ed Asner will appear as a guest star. Cobra Kai will debut later this year on Youtube Red.
This month is looking like an ideal time for PlayStation 4 owners in the market for a PlayStation VR headset to finally pick one up. Sony is bringing back some steep discounts on the standalone headset and various bundles, bringing their respective prices as low as they've ever gone.
These new promotions begin in the United States on February 18 and will see the cheapest option sell for $200, rather than the usual $300. The PlayStation Blog suggests this may just be the standalone headset (which doesn't come with the required PS4 camera). However, the official PlayStation website shows that it may also include the Gran Turismo Sport bundle, which gets you the game and camera, but that will require you actually finding a store that has it in stock.
Next cheapest is Doom VFR's bundle, which will go for $300 (down from $400). This packs in a physical copy of Doom VFR in addition to the headset, camera, and the 2.0 demo disc. Alternatively, Skyrim's bundle drops to $350 (from $450) and gets you Skyrim VR, the headset, camera, 2.0 demo disc, and two PlayStation Move controllers. As with a number of other games, Skyrim VR can be played either with the Move controllers or a standard DualShock 4.
These offers will be available until March 3 at participating retailers; according to Sony, these include Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and GameStop. If you're unsure about buying one, check out our comparison of the different VR headsets. You could also wait and hope Sony does another promotion where it sends PSVR demo units to people's homes.
One thing to be aware of is that Sony introduced a small revamp of PSVR last year, allowing HDR passthrough with the breakout box and making other refinements. For more help in deciding which unit is right for you, check out our Doom VFR review and thoughts on Skyrim VR.
By Anonymous on Feb 15, 2018 11:34 pm Today Sam checks out Fortnite's latest battle royale patch that took out the SMG, but added a new grenade the impulse grenade.
Blizzard is again experimenting with balance changes in Overwatch, and it's launching a new PTR update to enlist players' help in testing them. This latest patch deals with three characters specifically, not including Hanzo or Symmetra, who were recently highlighted as being in line for some adjustments.
In terms of what is in the patch, Mei receives some significant buffs. The duration of her freeze ability has been increased from 1 second to 1.5 seconds, which Blizzard hopes will better provide her with the ability to take on speedy enemies in particular. Additionally, the alt-fire on her weapon is gaining a few additional shots to provide her with more opportunities to pull off a headshot. In the developer video update below, director Jeff Kaplan explains that Blizzard thinks Mei is close to being balanced but believe she "could use some help," hence the buffs.
Next up is Sombra, who will no longer charge up her Ultimate through hacked health packs. She'll now primarily earn her Ultimate by dealing damage, and some unspecified changes have been made to her weapon as a result. Her Translocator's duration has also been extended, giving her more time to act before it expires.
More importantly, her Hack ability now takes less time to use, and it affects enemies in some new ways. This varies from character to character--when hacked, Genji loses the ability to double jump, while Pharah can't use her hover jets. Kaplan describes this as an experiment; it's not confirmed that these effects will make it into the live game, and it's possible that others could also be impacted by Hack.
Finally, Doomfist's weapon will now recover ammo much more quickly than before. This change actually briefly went live as part of the recent live game update by mistake, but it has since been rolled back.
A recent developer update video covered upcoming balance changes to a variety of characters. Two of those--Mercy and Junkrat--are now available in the live game, and we're seeing the Mei changes tested in this new PTR patch. Hanzo was also mentioned during that, but we're still not seeing any adjustments to him. In the new developer update, Kaplan discusses the character and--more specifically--many of the proposed changes that have now been ruled out.
One such proposal involved replacing Scatter Arrow with a new ability that allowed him to shoot a single, sniper-like shot very quickly, even through barriers, but it was found to be too frustrating for players hiding behind barriers who were killed by it. Another change included a new ability being assigned to the reload button that would let him activate certain abilities more frequently. Blizzard also tried making Scatter Arrow only activate when shooting at a wall or ceiling (rather than the floor), but this was deemed to be too much of a nerf, which is not the intention. The studio is now looking at a new ability that lets him rapidly fire a series of arrows, and this is something that could be tested on the PTR in the future. Blizzard is also exploring a horizontal leap that's primarily meant to get Hanzo out of danger's way.
Overwatch players on PC can check out the changes that are currently in testing on the PTR. There's no word on when these changes will make it to the live game on PC, PS4, or Xbox One, but bear in mind that these adjustments could be tweaked further or eliminated altogether. In the meantime, everyone can take part in the new Lunar New Year event, which introduces a variety of new Year of the Dog skins and cosmetics.
Those in the market for a new game that won't cost them a penny are in luck, provided they have an Amazon Prime membership. The next free PC game to be offered through Twitch Prime--which is one of the perks of an Amazon Prime membership--is now available, and it's a good one.
Civilization IV: The Complete Edition can currently be had for free on Twitch. It's available from now until February 21 and can be claimed from Civ IV's game page or by clicking the Prime Loot button from the Twitch website's top bar while logged into a Twitch Prime account. Bear in mind, you'll need to redeem this through the Twitch desktop app, rather than simply getting a code to redeem through Steam, but it's yours to keep even after this offer expires.
Although the Civ series is now two numbered entries ahead, Civ IV remains an excellent game that you can easily lose hundreds of hours in. The Complete Edition, which normally retails for $30, packages the base game with its Beyond the Sword, Colonization, and Warlords expansion packs, introducing even more content to a game that already offered a tremendous amount of gameplay.
Free games and DLC packs are periodically given out to members with Twitch Prime. Another is on the way shortly after this Civ IV offer concludes, as the original Devil May Cry will be free beginning on February 27. That precedes the PS4, Xbox One, and PC release of Devil May Cry HD Collection on March 13. PC owners can also nab another free game through EA's On the House promotion, which is currently giving away Dead Space.
The issue of whitewashing is one that's plagued TV and film for years, and yet it never seems to stop. Whether it's Tilda Swinton being cast as the Ancient One--typically portrayed as an Asian man in the comics--in Doctor Strange or Jennifer Lawrence playing Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games--despite the books describing the character as having olive skin and black hair, it's something that's all too common.
However, Altered Carbon executive producer Laeta Kalogridis is preemptively shutting down any notion of whitewashing on her next project. Kalogridis is currently working on a live-action adaptation of the Japanese light novel series Sword Art Online, which will be available via Netflix, and she's planning to cast the series appropriately.
Speaking to Collider, she clears the air immediately. "Well, let's get the obvious bit out of the way, right away. SAO is an essentially Japanese property, in which Kirito and Asuna, who are the two leads, are Japanese. In the television show, Kirito and Asuna will be played by Asian actors," she says. "When I sold it to Netflix, we were all on the same page. They are not interested in whitewashing it, and I am not interested in whitewashing it."
That said, the adaptation will have a global feel, thanks in part to the property it's based on. The original light novels are set in a near future, with most of the story taking place in a virtual reality MMORPG.
"In terms of the secondary characters, because the game is meant to be global, the way it's presented in the anime and in the light novels, there are secondary characters that clearly are from other parts of the world, like Klein and Agil," Kalogridis says. "To me, it's very obvious when you watch it that you're meant to take that this game spans the globe, but Kirito and Asuna are very clearly located as kids from Japan, and Tokyo, if I'm not mistaken. That is what we will be doing because that is the story."
At this point, there is no announced release date for Netflix's take on Sword Art Online. If you want to familiarize yourself with the series, though, in addition to the light novels, there are manga and anime adaptations you can check out. In fact, you can stream the anime on Netflix.
Before the first trailer for the upcoming Incredibles sequel premieres during the Winter Olympics, Disney and Pixar have released a trio of teaser posters to get fans ready. The new images show off the side of superhero life that's rather mundane--laundering your superhero costume to keep it nice and fresh-looking.
The first, which shows the Parr family's superhero costumes in a laundry basket, reads, "Back to work." The second, with the costumes in a washing machine, reads, "Almost ready." Naturally, the third features Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) ironing his costume. That image declares it's time to "suit up."
For Mr. Incredible, it'll be his first time suiting up in quite a while. While most of the details about Incredibles 2 remain a mystery, it was previously revealed that the movie would find the former superhero as a stay-at-home dad, while his wife Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) is the one in the superhero spotlight.
When a new villain emerges, though, it'll be time for the entire Incredible family to spring into action. And this time, based on the short teaser released previously, they'll be joined by baby Jack-Jack, whose superpowers are becoming obvious.
Joining Nelson and Hunter in returning for the new adventure are Sarah Vowell (Violet), Samuel L. Jackson (Frozone), and Brad Bird (Edna Mode). Huck Milner voiced young Dash, with Bob Odenkirk (Winston Deavor), Catherine Keener (Evelyn Deavor), Jonathan Banks (Rick Dicker), Sophia Bush (Voyd), and Isabella Rossellini (Ambassador) also starring.
Incredibles 2, like its predecessor, is directed by Bird and produced by John Walker. It hits theaters on June 15.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lindsey Beer (Barbie) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel) have collaborated on the latest script for the Silver & Back film. Gina Prince-Bythewood, who is set to direct the movie, is now doing a polish on their draft before turning it into Sony.
However, Beer and Robertson-Dworet aren't the first to take a stab at the project. Prince-Bythewood previously wrote a script for the movie, as did Lisa Joy (Westworld) and Chris Yost (Thor: Ragnarok).
Silver & Black, like the upcoming Venom film starring Tom Hardy, will not exist in the MCU alongside Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Though a cast has yet to be announced and production is nowhere near starting, Silver & Black was previously announced to have a February 8, 2019 release date. The odds of it actually meeting that release date at this point, though, seem slim. Venom, however, will be in theaters on October 5.
Although it's coming a bit later than expected, the new update for Fortnite has arrived on all platforms. The version 2.5.0 patch makes some big changes and additions for both Battle Royale and Save the World modes, including the addition of a new weapon to obtain and new areas to explore in the popular PvP mode on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Battle Royale is now home to the Impulse Grenade, a new type of explosive that, after a short delay, sends all nearby players flying a long distance. It's a Blue rarity item, and it can only be found in Treasure Chests and Supply Drops. You can get a glimpse at what it can do in the brief video clip below; it may lead to some hilarious match endings in the final circle.
Among the places you'll now find Treasure Chests in during Battle Royale matches are new "thematic Shrines hidden across the map." One of these is pictured in the gallery below, and they appear to have a Chinese architectural look to them. Meanwhile, Save the World has introduced new heroes and Dragon weapons themed around the Lunar New Year (also pictured below).
Other notable changes to Battle Royale include some technical changes for PS4 and Xbox One players. The standard versions of those consoles now feature dynamic resolution and high quality temporal upsampling; the former seeks to ensure a smooth framerate by decreasing the resolution when necessary. Those on an Xbox One X can now play at "full" 4K, while PS4 players should no longer experience excessively slow Fortnite patch downloads.
In terms of balance, a variety of adjustments have been made, including the temporary removal of the SMG weapon, which was done to create some breathing room for other weapons that have been added to the game. Additionally, several items are now less likely to drop, including the crossbow, minigun, and Chug Jug. There have also been some notable audio improvements, such as the crossbow making a noise when it's ready to fire again. There are also now "above" and "below" versions of footstep sounds when running on wood, stone, or metal.
Save the World--which remains in paid early access but will eventually be for free everyone--also receives some significant additions in this update. In addition to the aforementioned Dragon weapons and Lunar New Year heroes, the Heartbreaker Crossbow is now available. Most importantly, the Spring It On event has begun, introducing new quests and rewards, with more to be added in the coming weeks.
All of this is available now. For a complete rundown on what's new, check out the full patch notes here. And if you're new to Fortnite: Battle Royale or are just looking for some tips, have a look at our Fortnite building guide or our discussion about what makes the mode so popular.
Sea of Thieves, the upcoming multiplayer pirate game from Rare, will have another beta this weekend. Those that had access to the first closed beta will be able to set sail again from February 16 at 10 AM GMT / 2 AM PST until February 18 at 10 AM GMT / 2 AM PST.
According to Rare, this second beta "is to test a lot of the work we've done since the closed beta, and to try and hit a higher concurrent players number than we've ever seen before." As a result, it has said players should expect to see sessions being interrupted, difficulty joining games at peak times over the weekend, and issues with using the in-game shop. Of course, this is all in service of ironing out the problems for its eventual full launch.
The content available in this beta will be the same as that included in the previous beta. Rare said it will "purposefully be a similar feature set ... restricted to the Gold Hoarders trading company and accompanying Voyages," so it can "drive scale and test issues at a high scale of player concurrency."
For those that haven't been able to get into the beta yet, Rare plans on running another one closer to the launch of the game. This will provide "a taste of the wider Sea of Thieves experience."
Destiny 2's Crimson Days event is now live, bringing a new activity--a special 2v2 Crucible playlist--to occupy your time. But no matter what you do, you'll be working toward unlocking the real highlight of the new update: new gear. Destiny 2 players on PC, PS4, and Xbox One now have a variety of items to acquire, but only for a limited time.
You can take a look at everything that's currently available in the images. The Valentine's Day-themed event includes new Ghosts, Sparrows, armor and weapon shaders, emotes, weapon ornaments (for weapons like scout rifles and auto rifles, but hand cannons and others get no love), and more to acquire--but no new armor. These are primarily included in new Crimson Engrams, which are obtained by playing the aforementioned Crucible mode. Alternatively, if you've reached the level cap (level 20 if you don't own Curse of Osiris, 25 if you do), each level up will reward you a Crimson Engram in addition to the standard Illuminated Engram. No matter how you obtain it, the Crimson Engram is guaranteed to decrypt into an item you don't already own until you've unlocked everything.
While the bulk of the new items are obtained through the Engram, there are five others that are obtained through different means. You'll need to fulfill a specific objective in order to unlock the corresponding reward (or to have a chance at earning it, in one case). Here's how to unlock them:
Tirastrella Ghost Shell + Fire of the Crimson Days Emblem: Complete the "Welcome to Crimson Days" milestone (finish five Crimson Days matches, talk to Shaxx)
Undeterred Exotic Sparrow: Complete Crimson Days Crucible playlist matches for a "chance" to unlock this
Dieselpunk Exotic Ornament for Wardcliff Coil: Complete the Leviathan Raid or Eater of Worlds Raid Lair to find this in the final chest
Flaunting Dance Emote: Complete the Nightfall Strike during the event
Crimson Days is now live on all platforms, and it runs until the weekly reset on February 20. Even if you don't plan on playing much, you can get a free Crimson Engram just by logging in and speaking with Tess at The Tower.
A new trailer for The Incredibles 2 premiered tonight during the Olympics. It provides one of the best looks so far at the much-anticipated animated movie from Pixar. In this timeline, superheroes are outlawed, but Helen (Holly Hunter) gets pulled back in. Bob (Craig T. Nelson) is a stay-at-home dad, and that's no walk in the park either.
This trailer also shows of Bob Odenkirk's character, while it teases out some more of the story, which will center around a "new villain [who] emerges with a brilliant and dangerous plot that threatens everything." As you'll see, Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) is also back.
This new trailer comes not long after Disney released a set of posters for The Incredibles 2--you can see them all here.
Incredibles 2, like its predecessor, is directed by Bird and produced by John Walker. It hits theaters on June 15. The original came out in 2004, so it's been a long time coming for the sequel. What do you think of the new trailer? Let us know in the comments below!
Today Sam checks out Fortnite's latest battle royale patch that took out the SMG, but added a new grenade the impulse grenade.
Subsurface Circular is coming to the Nintendo Switch on March 1st.
The Incredibles are back on June 15th! Watch a brand-new sneak peek of Disney/Pixar's Incredibles 2 now.
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